The present invention relates to gas generant compositions that upon combustion produce a relatively smaller amount of solids and a relatively abundant amount of gas. It is an ongoing challenge to improve the manufacturing processes of gas generators and also, to enhance the safety of the manufacturing and shipping of gas generators containing gas generant compositions.
A solid pyrotechnic gas generating composition typically contains a fuel, an oxidizer, and other known constituents combined homogeneously in tablet, pellet, or granulated form for example. It has been believed that the homogeneity of the gas generant composition was necessary to provide a uniform combustion rate, and to provide reproducibility of performance of the associated gas generator. Nevertheless, the handling, manufacturing, packaging, and shipping of the compositions, in a variety of environmentally distinct ambient conditions, implicates safety concerns relative to the gas generator.
Current pyrotechnic airbag inflators utilize a primary gas generant that has fuels and oxidizers premixed and pressed, extruded, and cured and otherwise processed into a primary gas generant composition. The process of combining the fuels and oxidizers through pressing, extruding, and other processing results in a number of safety related costs that are incurred by the company and its employees. Other costs related to this approach include special shipping requirements, manufacturing requirements, machine requirements, handling requirements, training, and other procedures, for example. Reducing these costs, and improving the safety and handling of various pyrotechnic constituents would certainly be an improvement in the art.